Forget me nots
by Mad-Eyes4U
Summary: [post HPB] After Hermione is abducted in an ambush, Ron and Harry go out to find her. Can they find her before Ron gets too desperate? What will Hermione find out about Tom Riddle's past and the Horcuxes? R
1. A Forest Walk

**A Forest Walk**

_**A/N**: And you all thought I wasn't going to come back, but guess what? I AM back (for those who care). Now, on with the fanfiction! I own no know characters; All goes to the omnipotent JKR. Beginning loosely based of the Samurai X OVA Remembrance Arc. Thanks mucho to my loyal fans!_

Ron tied his last shoelace on his kick-around shoes in the dim light of dusk. He fixed his shirt and shorts to make himself look presentable.

Wearing a summer dress and a bouquet of Forget-Me-Nots and lilies in her hands, Hermione called from the door of the Burrow, "Ron, are you ready yet? We have to leave now or it will be too late to walk back home."

"Yes, I'm coming," he answered back. As he approached the door, Ron asked, "You're sure you don't need a jacket? You might get cold."

"I'm sure," Hermione said sternly. "Let's just go now."

School was officially canceled for their 7th year, but Ron and Hermione planned to visit Hogwarts on that 13th day of August.  
Hermione turned to go, tugging Ron by the shirt, and met Harry face to face in her turn. Out in front of him he held a jacket. She didn't need it, but Hermione knew it meant something to him.

"I really don't want the two of you going out alone. Not without me," commented Harry.

"But you have to stay here, mate," Ron noted. "It's us that don't want you getting hurt."

"Besides," added Hermione, "Remus will be coming any minute, and he needed to speak with you about something important. Don't worry about Ron and me. I'll make sure Ron doesn't hurt himself."

"You see, nothing to worry about," agreed Ron. He absorbed her comment and then took back his statement. "Hey, wait a minute—"

Hermione continued to drag Ron by his shirt, and all the while passing Harry out the door, never losing eye contact with him until she and Ron apparated.

* * *

Outside of the Hogwarts' grounds, Ron and Hermione appear again. It would be along walk until they reached their destination, but it gave them a chance to talk, just the two of them.

Hermione's attention went to the nature around her and to the trees with full green leaves on them. It would be a shame, she thought to herself, for she wouldn't be able to see the leave change into their beautiful colors and watch the fall. How she would miss this place that she thought of as a second home. The school could not, however, sustain itself without the man whose body lay beneath a white coffin. Hermione clutched her bouquet tighter.

Before a tear could be shed, Ron put his hand to her shoulder. His stare was intense and questioning of her emotions. Hermione knew he wanted to know what was wrong. With a weak smile, Hermione erased all of Ron's questioning. However dark the times might be, Hermione always found room for a smile. It was what the world was lacking.

Their destination was within their sight, but Hermione wanted to ask a question before they reached that haunted place.

"Ron," called Hermione, stopping her pace and Ron's as well, "when and if this war ends…where will all of us go?"

Ron stood still, not even turning to face her. He could only guess the look on her face. It was question the provoked his thoughts but didn't want to think about not being there. "Most likely not very far. I still need to stay here, to support my family. No matter how I feel I can never seem to be far from home and not miss it."

"I want to move as far away from here as possible," Hermione almost mumbled. "This place…it will hold too many memories."

Ron summed up his courage and looked her straight in the face. He looked at her eyes, brown like the maple trees surrounding them. They provoked him even more to say what he wanted to even more. "I don't want you to leave."

"Don't ever think I'm going to leave," Hermione reprimanded him, putting her hand to where his heart was. "As long you have this heart of yours, I will never be lost to you."

"C'mon, Hermione," Ron motioned with his head for her to keep moving. "It'll get too dark soon."

Continuing to walk forward, Hermione put on the jacket Harry gave her before she and Ron left. Looking to her, Ron couldn't help butnotice the smile onHermione's face as she embraced her enwrapped body. How he wished he was brave like Harry, somehow like Harry, to be able to make her smile like that and not have his feelings jealousy.

6 feet from the white tombstone, Ron and Hermione halted at sound of a voice behind them. "You shouldn't be out this late."

The harshness and threatening sound of the voice cause both Ron and Hermione to stir. Hermione tightened the grip on her jacket as the air became colder, hands still holding the bouquet of Forget-Me-Nots and lilies.  
"Who are you?" questioned Ron as he turned to the unfamiliar voice.


	2. One of These Nights

**One of These Nights**

_A/N: Aha! Chapter 2 done! wOOt! Now, once again, I own nothing, my soul included. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. FLAMES ROAST MY TOASTY MARSHMALLOWS! That is their only purpose. Constuctive criticism is welcome, and so is praise! Happy Columbus Day!_

"Who are you?" inquired Ron's quivering voice to the figure clad in black behind them.

There were no facial features, let alone hair or eye color, to be seen 'neath the shadow of the hood. As lanky as the figure looked, Ron and Hermione both knew never to taken anything lightly, especially during the approaching night.

The sun was already beginning to set behind the tree line, almost to the point to where neither of them could see 10 feet in front of them. The small stretches of sunlight would be their only guide. The leaves crunched and twigs snapped as Ron and Hermione shifted their stances and the figure moved closer to them. Ron's breathing was heavy as he inconspicuously edged his hand to his back pocket for his wand. Hermione reached for hers and clutched to her bouquet tighter than before.

More twigs snapped as approaching accomplices also clad in black robes appeared out of the Forbidden Forest surrounding them. Ron and Hermione had little options of where to run but they knew one thing. It was an ambush, and there were two teenagers against the six black clad figures they counted.

"Tell me who you are!" Ron screamed in more of a panic than a threat.

A swish of black robes from the charging assailants was the last thing Hermione saw before she darted to her first option of escape, the Forbidden Forest. As bright of a witch she was, Hermione could not fight her instincts.

"Hermione, stop! Are you crazy?" called Ron, as he chased after her.

Spells being fired around them obliterated the rocks and annihilated the trees that spared Ron and Hermione's live temporarily. If nature did not stop the assailants, then he would have to stop them with all the strength he possessed, thought Ron to himself. The momentary cease-fire gave Ron and Hermione time to think where to go next. Of all the times they had been in there, Ron and Hermione would have to have some idea.

"Run to the left," Ron whispered to her, hearing rustling in the brush.

Ron only sprinted 2 meters before he was tackled around the waist and thrown to the ground. More and more appeared out of the brush and pounced on Ron like vultures. From beneath the pile, Ron shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

The red jet of light sent three of the five flying through the canopy of the forest. Screams from their free fall could be heard on the outskirts.

Faced with her own problem, Hermione attempted to say, "Impedi—"

Her spell was incomplete as she was thrown into the distance with the assailant's _Impedimentia_.

The world came back into vision as Hermione slowly lifted herself form the ground. Flashes of light could be seen in the distance with her impaired vision. Bump on her head or not, Hermione was reminded of what Harry had said to weeks ago, knowing her should have listened to him better. It was two days after he came to the Burrow, two days after his protection ran out. Harry warned her that now that Voldemort was back, now that his friends knew the prophecy and there was no Dumbledore, the nighttime would always be a fight for their lives. One of these nights, it would happen. Someone would go out and never come back. Never did Hermione want to think about never seeing those she had come to know as her second family again, but oh how she wished she had listened to him.

A white light was coming closer to her, so bright she had squint her eyes. Her newly acquired sensitivity to light caused her head to pound. The close the holder of the light came, the more she was able to discern the features of its façade. There was pallid skin and an emaciated face, with a clearly visible jaw line and a flat face. Hermione's eyes widened as her brown eyes met with blood red ones. The stories Harry had told her of his encounters were no longer fairy-tales.

His eyes also widened in what Hermione took as hunger for her evident fear. Hermione felt powerless under his relentless, ravenous stare. Harry said it would be one of these nights, and tonight was that night. Looking down to Forget-me-nots and lilies still clasped in her loosening grip, Hermione wondered, _Will these be the last things I see?_ For what could have been her last breaths, she ran. It wasn't far until her wrist was caught, frozen from his ice cold touch.

Looking at him again, Hermione recalled what Harry told the members of Dumbledore's Army, the most important lesson she would ever learn. _Never, under any circumstances, are you to show any fear. There's a reason why Death Eaters are so successful at scaring people. They pry off of people's fear, like dogs. Play their game, and trust me, it can be fatal. _

Only hearing Harry mention it once, Hermione attempted the only curse she could think of at the minute. Aiming her wand to his rib cage, she managed to shout, "Sectumsempra!"

With the side of his waist injured, his grip on Hermione's hand was loosened. Her flight for life continued, running towards the fighting noises to where she knew she would find Ron 500 meter away. But Dark Lords are not so easily incapacitated.

The last of the defeated assailants lay at Ron's feet. Pushing back the excess sleeve of one of them, Ron uncovered the identity of the attackers, the snake coming out of a white skull, the Death Eaters. _This was an ambush_, Ron thought to himself, _but who told them we'd be here? How did they know we were going to be here?_

A flash of light passed the corner of Ron Weasley's eye. Blinding. Green. His body became limber; No thoughts passed his mind, except one. _Hermione_.

Madly dashing through the forest with wand alit, there was no sign of Hermione. Ron couldn't count the times he called her name in desperation. Coming to the site where he was sure the light originated, there came crack beneath his footsteps. The bouquet of Forget-me-nots and lilies lay abandoned on the forest floor. Alive she was, for no body lay on the ground, but her wereabouts, those were yet to be know. Clutching to the bouquet as Hermione did Harry's jacket, Ron bit his lower lip and held back his tears. _One of these nights it would happen. Someone would go out and never come back._


	3. Unintended Suprise

Unintended Surprise 

A/N: Yes, I'm back again, kiddies! For all those who reviewed me so far, here's a cyber cookie left over from my Photo 1 class. (:3:) Here you go! As always, I don't own HP, and flames roast my toasty marshmallows! Happy Halloween! (Laughs manically)

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Remus sat in a chair opposite Harry, a cup of cocoa on the table beside him. Since his arrival five minutes ago until the present time, his expression remained anxious, eyes shifting every once in a while. 

Mrs. Weasley left the room and Remus immediately leapt at the opportunity to speak to Harry. "Let me get straight to the point, Harry."

Harry knew it had to something about Voldemort. Good or bad, Harry would take anything, as long as it got him closer to destroying him.

Letting out a sigh to restrain himself, Remus continued in as calm a manner he could. "It has only come upon me recently that I might have a clue to what and where one of horcuxes might be."

Harry's eyes widened. Finally, there was a lead on the subject which he spent a great many nights, some sleepless, cogitating and contemplating over.

"However…" Remus' voice started with hesitation, "It might come as a shock to you as to whose possession it's in. Mind you, this is only a hunch."

The brief silence was killing Harry. "Well?"

Remus opened his mouth to speak but was stopped a scream from the kitchen.

"RONALD!"

Mrs. Weasley's voice echoed through the house, the sound of a worried mother that could scare even a wolf.

Harry burst into the kitchen, shortly followed by Remus. Scars traced Ron's façade along with a downtrodden and shaken expression. More noticeable was the absence or Hermione. "Ron, what happened?"

Hermione's abandoned bouquet shook in his hands as Ron held it outward.

Everyone in the room could hear the sound of Harry's knuckles crack as he flexed them in and out until the settled in a fist. The heartache in his voice was almost too much to bear. "Are you to tell me…that she…is dead?"

"No," responded Ron, biting back tears. "She's lost. How else would I come home alone?"

Anger flashed through Harry's mind and face. It was difficult to decide whether to blame Ron or blame himself. For once, reason evoked his decision and settled that it could have happened to anyone. How unfortunate that it had to happen this way.

Harry ran to the bathroom, the cold water waking his awareness of the situation. Remus and Ron waited outside.

"I knew this was going to happen," Remus blurted out quietly but enough for Ron to hear and Harry to turn his attention to Remus.

"What do you mean?" Harry questioned with urgency in his voice. Harry then thought back to the conversation he and Remus had only a few minutes ago, which seemed like and eternity ago based on the current events. "The horcrux…"

Remus nodded. "I'll explain everything in time, but now we need to find where Hermione went."  
_  
Wherever she went…I'll find it_, Ron thought to himself. _I swear it, if it's the last things I do. No matter what it takes…No matter what it takes_.

He put his hand to his heart. _Hermione_.  
-------------------------------

The sun began to rise etched in red, a warning to sailors at sea, from behind the hills in the distance. Her eyes we greeted with the dim sunlight of the approaching morning. Hermione Granger slowly began to wake in an unfamiliar place.

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End A/N: So whatcha think? I know you want to press the shiny blue button! You'll get a cyber cookie and my undying gratitude! (:3:) 


	4. Excuse Me?

******Excuse Me?  
**_  
A/N: __First off, thanks to all who reviewed, including **everg8ter23**, **Rose J Lupin**, **Dream Phantom**, **Sunny Girl**, **stopmeplease** and **it's me**. Cyber cookies and left over coffee/cocoa from Photo class for all of you! Second, suggestions are a BIG help, so any constructive criticism or ideas are welcome! Again, don't own anything HP related. cries uncontrollably_

The bright morning sunlight cascaded through the small window in the room. Sounds of nature could be heard outside; the scent of fresh pine needles wafted past her nose. Cold moist air could be felt on her tongue as she lay on the on the soft mattress. The softness of the sheets below her hand was comforting and inviting. The last of Hermione's 5 senses catalyzed when her eyes opened to see her surroundings.

A foreign ceiling of gray and bed sheets that didn't belong to her caused to her to stir. Sitting up quickly, Hermione glanced around the average sized room. It contained the bare minimums, a closet, a bookshelf and a full length mirror. At the foot of her bed, Hermione noticed the dress she had been wearing neatly folded into a square. Hermione looked from herself to her dress in shock, realizing her clothes had been removed and replaced with a bathrobe. She clutched herself and tapped around her shoulders, arms, chest and head; no bruises, cuts or any sign of injury was apparent.

"I'm alive. No injuries, but…why?" Hermione thought to herself.

Nature could be heard outside again as Hermione turned her attention to the window at the head rest behind her. Seeing as it was the closest exit that lead to a porch, Hermione gently opened the window and crawled out. She felt the full extent of her fatigue as she dizzily made her way to the ledge of the porch. There was a long drop from the cliff where the building was residing to the canopy of the forest below. Pine trees intermingled with oaks and maples; Bright colors of red, yellow and orange spotted the evergreen forest. The forest below was sharply cut off by a large field of seemingly endless grass. Am I going to be able to run that far, thought Hermione to herself.

"I wouldn't bother jumping off the edge if I were you," a snide voice called from her left. The all too familiar figure of Draco Malfoy was seen leaning up against a door adjacent to her room. "So, you're finally awake."

Hermione decided that not only was she too groggy to lunge at him; she was also unarmed.

She glared as she snapped, "Why did you bring me here? Answer me."

"As if I have any idea. I'm never told anything," growled Malfoy. "Now let's go."

He opened the door but noticed Hermione wasn't following.

"He wants to see you."

It wasn't Malfoy she was scared of but the inhuman red eyes she had seen scared her more than what Harry's words had described. Knowing that resisting would do no good, Hermione followed in trepidation.

No one was in the hallways. Hermione surmised that the people might still be sleeping. It was deathly silent, like the middle of the night. The blank hallways made the place seemed more muted. Nothing was there except for the ornate gothic architecture; no paintings, no statues on pillars, so sign of civilization.

Malfoy stopped in front of a pair of large mahogany doors, banging the knocker on the right door twice.

In the awkward wait, Hermione momentarily looked around the hallway. The sight of a candlelit room caught her eye. Captivated by the light, she crept towards to room to peer inside. All the civilization that was missing was found in that room. Rows and rows of books lined the walls, the untouched parts covered in art work. The candle she saw from the hall lay old and used on a desk piled high with hand-written papers.

Before she could take another step in, a voiced called. "Oi, you, girl!"

A large red haired fellow stood at the frame of the door next to Malfoy. "You, girl, get in here!"

"Her name is Hermione," scolded Malfoy.

Both the guard and Hermione stared at him questioningly. Did he just stand up for her?

Much like her bedroom, the study she walked into had barely anything, save a desk, several chairs and window that allowed little sunlight in. Nothing the room screamed egotistical maniac as she expected, but the emptiness and lackluster of the building made it seem more forbidding. The room cleared, and only 2 of the 16 people packed into the room remained. There were two chairs in front of the desk which Voldemort stood behind.

"Child, have a seat," he urged, indicating the chairs.

"I—I prefer to s-stand, thank you," hesitated Hermione, near frozen at the sight.

Several feet from the desk, Severus Snape's voice warned, "I suggest you take a seat, Ms. Granger."

Hermione continued to stand, ignoring the advice of her former teacher.

Voldemort's scarlet eyes focused on her. "Sit."

More insistent than Draco tugging at her robe was Voldemort's sudden glare of exacerbation. Hermione continued to stare at him with her wide brown eyes on her trip over to her seat.

"I'm going to ask you this once and you have better have a good answer," he spoke with demand. "Where is my horcrux?"

All of the color left her face. Barely audiable, she whispered, "Excuse me?"

* * *

_518 Oxfordshire Drive_ is what the slip of paper Harry held in his hands read. 

Behind Ron and Harry, Tonks began to shiver and complained, "It's freezing and it's not even winter yet. We'll freeze out here."

"You can thaw out later," Harry snapped as the made their way up the walkway.

"Harry, are you sure this is the right way to go about it?" Ron said hesitantly. "What if Remus is wrong? It was just a hunch he had."

"Any hunch is a good hunch right now," replied Harry.

He then rang the door bell.

A brown haired woman with the bright smile of a dentist popped her head outside, inquisitively looking at the three figures standing outside her door.

"Can I help you?" inquired the woman, with slight reservation. She looked around for any sign of suspicious activity, a van, cameras, Ashton Kutcher. Nothing seemed harmful except three strangers.

Harry approached her first, "Mrs. Granger, I'm a friend of Hermione's from school. I'm—"

"Oh, you must be Ronald, the one she always talks about."

"No, this is Ron," Harry indicated to Ron. The whole situation just got more embarrassing. Pointing behind him, he noted Tonks. "And this is our friend, Tonks. I know this might be…um, odd to say the least, but do you happen to have anything that would belong to a man named Tom Riddle?"

Mrs. Granger took a step back, her eyes in shock and her mouth agape. Her voice was hardly a whisper when she suspiciously asked, "Excuse me?"

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**_End A/N:_** _Yeah! thanks again to all who reviewed. Remeber, flames roast my toasty marshmallowsand saves the heating bills at my house!_


	5. I Already Knew

**I Already Knew**

_**A/N: **Sorry about the temporary hiatus (for those who care). Damn SATs. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Thanks to all who have reviewed me so far. Hope you enjoy! The next chapter should be up within the next few days (again, for those who care). J.K Rowling is the original. Supid copyrights.

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_  
"I'll tell it to you again, more slowly," Voldemort said. He reached so far over the desk that his grip was around the lip of the table. "Where—is—my—horcrux?" 

Hermione look at his face in frozen shock. His eyes were red as when you press the colored pencil too much on paper.

"I really…have no idea what you're talking about," Hermione responded.

Still standing in the corner, Snape proposed, "Perhaps Sarah never gave her it."

Hermione recognized the name. "What about my mother?"

"Shame," Voldemort said, sighing. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this."

"What?" Hermione asked. Neither Snape nor Voldemort seemed to acknowledge her.

"Where does she live now did you say?" Voldemort asked Snape lazily.

"But…Wait!" Hermione urged, more loudly.

"Oxfordshire Road, in London," Snape responded.

"Bit of trip, but quite worth it," said Voldemort, rising from his chair.  
_  
Why is he going to my home? My mother! What does he want with my mother?_ Hermione's mind was racing, but everything was going to fast for her to catch up.

"You can't! I do not understand! Why…?" Hermione nearly cried. Her voice was hysterical now.

Voldemort's face twisted in to a smile that nearly made her want to throw up. "Don't worry, you're coming with us."

Hermione quickly glanced at Draco. The same contorted smirk he usually gave when he did something sinister was drawn on his face.

"I've always wanted to see where a Mudblood like you lives."

* * *

"I don't know exactly who you think you are, but I won't be badgered by you a moment longer!" Mrs. Granger yelled. 

She grabbed the door handle and proceeded to slam it shut until Ron jabbed his arm between the door and the frame. Mrs. Granger opened the door ajar enough to let Ron's arm free.

"Please," Ron begged through is gritted teeth. "You have to help us. You have to help us to help your daughter."

"Sarah!" A voice called form inside the house. A bespectacled man with light brown hair and sea blue eyes came to the door. "I heard you scream and the door slam against something. What is going—"

The man assumed to be Mr. Granger took notice of Harry, Ron and Tonks standing on the porch. His mouth was agape as looked back and forth from his wife to the crowd standing before him.

"Sarah, who are—"

"These are friends of Hermione's, David."

"You mean…?"

"Yes, David, 'magic people'."

"We're not here to harm anyone," Tonks added in her most diplomatic manner. Her hair had changed from its normal bubblegum pink to a faded blue. "All we need to do is take something and leave, before anything happens to you or anyone else."

Mrs. Granger heaved a sigh and looked distant for a moment. "Come in. Sit down."  
----------  
Cups of tea were set on the table of the naturally lit living room. Random and carefully dusted pictures lay on the mantle and on the light tables. Ron stared in amazement at all the electronics in the house: the television, the phone, and the lights. He planned to take pictures for his father, if only he knew how to work a Muggle camera.

Mrs. Granger continued to stare at the picture of her daughter at 10th birthday, with her normal neighborhood friends in their normal home. Aloud she said to no one in particular, "Perhaps it was a mistake to let her go. I never wanted to get involved with _her_ world again."

Harry and Ron stared at each other. Harry then asked, "_Again_?"

"Sarah, the letter would have been sent to Hermione, anyways," Tonks said, seeming to grasp the situation. "You couldn't have prevented it."

Turning to talk to Tonks, Mrs. Granger said, "I thought that, since he was gone, perhaps… perhaps it would be safe for her to go to that school. Then she found a friendship with you… Your name is Harry, right? She became friends with you, and now he'll find her. She's not safe."

"So, Hermione told you about Voldemort and what's happening in our world?" Harry asked. He found it surprising to know that Mrs. Granger knew so much about the wizarding world. Then again, Hermione was always one to keep her parents informed.

"No," she responded. "She didn't need to tell me anything. I already knew."

Ron chocked on his sip of tea.

"Wait, then…you're a—"

Mrs. Granger shook her head. "_Was_. I'm part of a group of magic people that have the option to take away their own powers."

Tonks leaned further back into the chair she was sitting in. "The Tempramagi, if I recall."

She nodded. "Let me be short with all of you. I do not have what you are looking for. It is buried with my mother, the last person to own it. I buried it with her so neither my daughter nor myself would have to carry that burden."

"What was your mother's name, Mrs. Granger?" Ron asked enthusiastically. He was so interested in the conversation; his face almost touched Mrs. Granger's.

Mrs. Granger stood up and took the picture at the center of the mantle. It was an aged sepia toned picture, the edges of the photo blanched out by too much light. In the group of six people, Mrs. Granger pointed to the profile second from the left. The honey colored hair and bookworm appearance was unmistakable.

"Aria. Aria Fitzgerald. That was her name."

Harry dropped the picture. Either he was seeing things in the old picture or the picture was showing him what he did not want to imagine. Apologizing profusely, Harry bent down to pick up the broken frame. Mrs. Granger helped Harry gather the pieces of broken glass. Gingerly she cleaned off the picture, dusting past the part of the picture where Tom Riddle's profile resided.

The picture was put back in its place. Mrs. Granger whispered, "I never knew why she trusted him so much."

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_**End A/N:** Come on, now, press the shiny blue button! I still have cookies, but no coffee. (My photo teacher is holding the coffee hostage until our class actually does work. Work? Who does work anyways. It's so overrated.) Constructive commentaryis welcome, but remember: FLAMES ONLY HELP ME ROAST MY TOASTY MARSHMALLOWS! (and pays heating bills! )_  



	6. Come Out of Your Hiding Place

**Come Out of Your Hiding Place**

_**A/N:** Thanks to my newest reviewer, **Jayy**, and **annavignola** for putting me into her C2. Even if you don't review coughREVIEWcough, I hope you enjoy this next installment. Suggestions are welcome. All know characters belong to the omnipotent J. K. Rowling.

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_

It was the same oak door that Hermione always remembered coming to after finishing school. She now stood in front of her suburban home but not to come home. Opening the door was the last thing Hermione wanted to do now. Hermione looked to the driveway and saw the car parked outside the garage. _Why did they have to be home?_

"Aren't you going to knock?" Voldemort said, more demanding than suggesting.

Hermione did not speak. She dared not put her hand on the brass knocker.

"Knock on the door, Ms. Granger," Snape finally demanded after a pregnant pause.

The unsympathetic nature of the situation was killing her. "I can't! Don't you understand?"

"You don't exactly have that option, do you now?" Snape said, rearing his head in a condescending manner.

Snape's eyes made her stomach turn again, much the way Voldemort's smile did. Hermione concluded that all Death Eaters must have some unique look, void of pity or human emotion, that made her sick.

"Oh, wonderful," Voldemort said. He smiled again. "You're very fortunate today."

Hermione stepped back slightly towards the door. She knew he would not smile unless something happened that was to his advantage. He kept advancing on her until her back was to the door. He extended his hand out towards her head. Instead trying to grab hold of her, he reached for the brass knocker. The knocked clanged three times against the metal counterpart; Hermione's heart pounded with each knock.

His head level with hers, Voldemort breathed, "Potter and Weasley decided to visit your mother, too."

* * *

Three solid knocks could be heard over the talking, each one distinct and reverberating off the walls. Mrs. Granger was the first one to say anything thing over the immediate silence.

"Now who's knocking?" she said, her voice exasperated.

Mrs. Granger only took one step when Harry clutched to the scar on his forehead. The searing pain pulsated through his body.

Mrs. Granger turned to him. "Do you need some medicine for that headache of yours?"

"No! Just—don't answer—the door!" Harry said. He was trying to overcome the pain without being too loud. "Ron, Tonks, we have to get of here!"

"But what if Hermione is with them?" Ron insisted.

"Ron, we can't take that risk!" Tonks snapped.

"But if she's here, I don't want to leave!"

"Don't you understand that if you get yourself killed, you won't be able to do anything more to help her!"

Ron turned to Harry as his last hope of support. "Harry?"

Harry had often made the choice between his own life and the possibility of saving another's. He looked from Tonks, to Ron, to Mrs. Granger and then to his own reflection in the hall mirror and knew that he was responsible for all those lives. The decision was once again left to him.

"Ron, Tonks, if both of you hide, he might not know you're here. I can handle it myself, but if I need your help, then come out of your hiding place."

"Like an ambush?" asked Ron.

"Yes."

"Get upstairs, quickly," Mrs. Granger said. Her eyes were in panic but her voice was full of bitter haste.

Tonks and Ron stared at her. Harry was surprised at what could be taken as either idiocy or complete bravery.

"Mrs. Granger?"

"Do as I say, all of you," --she pointed upstairs-- "Go into the second room on the left, so you can't be seen. I'll handle it."

"But--"

"GO!"

Harry nearly tripped on his way up the stairs; the pain was still so immense. The door to the room was quietly shut as the door at the front was opened.

Three faces greeted Mrs. Granger at the door, her daughter, a tall, lanky, greasy haired bloke and demon with red eyes and a pale face. Mrs. Granger looked Hermione in the eyes; she knew the kind of trouble her daughter was in, but Mrs. Granger could not bring herself to look Voldemort straight in the face.

"Sarah."

He said her name in an inhuman hiss. Mrs. Granger continued to look away from his deformed face and steel cold eyes. The fear was too overwhelming.

"Mum, please…Back away and let us in…" Hermione pleaded with her eyes.

Stepping forward, Voldemort urged her on. "Come now, Sarah. Show some hospitality."

She moved back as her daughter asked of her, however begrudgingly.

The house looked the same as when Hermione left for the Burrow that summer. Her mother always liked to keep the house dusted, the pictures all in the same order, loose papers put into boxes. Everything about her mother was order; Mrs. Granger never liked change in her house. Surveying the area, Hermione saw no sight of Ron or Harry. Hermione's eyes searched rapidly around the house. Her breath became rapid and shallow at the thought of Harry and Ron not being there to help her. Hope seemed lost until she saw a pair of green eyes peering out from the second door on the left. Time stopped temporarily as their eyes met in a silent conversation. Hermione knew not to say or do anything; she was just relieved to know that Harry and Ron were there behind that door.

Voldemort started to speak to Mrs. Granger like a child. It was diplomatic yet stern and not to be taken lightly.

"Now, Sarah, all I want to do is take back what's mine and leave you with your Mudblood of a daughter. I wouldn't try anything else."

Mrs. Granger began to scream at him in an uncontrollable rage. "My mother was a fool to trust you! She never should have--"

Suddenly, Hermione saw her mother writhing on the ground. Harry, Ron and Tonks could hear the screams from upstairs.

"NO!" Hermione screamed, grabbing at his arm.

He flung Hermione from his arm to the wall. Hermione's mother lay incapacitated on the ground after the curse was lifted. When Hermione opened her eyes, Voldemort's wand was six centimeters from her face.

* * *

_**End A/N:** Sorry, guys, no coffee or cookies today, but I'll give you a review instead if you want one! Press the shiny blue button that says "Go" and have a good day._


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